Löbner Watches, “Vom Guten das Beste” or The Best of The Best

Swiss watchmaking captures all the eye. Essentially the most prestigious manufacturers, trusted by the market, are “Swiss Made”, which acts as an absolute assure. The one one to dominate the watch panorama, traditionally, outdoors of Switzerland, is the nice Japanese basic: Seiko. On nearer inspection, nonetheless, watch-related know-how has developed outdoors of Switzerland, significantly in Japanese Germany. Many manufacturers have been energetic there, some till the Second World Struggle, earlier than being caught up within the battle and disappearing – till the rebirth of a few of the most well-known ones, like A. Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Unique. Others, well-known of their time, now return to the stage. Take the case of Löbner, whose historic legacy is extremely dense. This outdated German model, characterised by a wealthy historical past linked to the measurement of brief instances, relives once more at this time.

We’re speaking to Emmanuel Dietrich, managing companion of a model whose unique merchandise are outlined by a powerful identification.

Pascal Brandt, MONOCHROME – How was the model relaunched?

Emmanuel Dietrich – Matthias Düwel, our founder, expressed an curiosity within the historical past of German luxurious and relaunched the model. Having discovered that many of the suppliers of the Kaiser’s court docket had disappeared on the finish of World Struggle II, he began to gather outdated manufacturers with an especially wealthy previous. Up to now, he has accrued almost 60 manufacturers and created the holding “Jandorf”, whose mission is to redevelop these names and restore their previous status. 

Within the portfolio, there are two watch manufacturers, Gerstenberger and Löbner; the latter was the primary of the 2 to be relaunched. For instance, you’ll be able to go to www.josephinen.com, which is a ingesting glass manufacturing facility that has already been re-launched with nice success by the group.

The merchandise are developed and manufactured in Germany and Switzerland. Which parts/elements are used?

We’re “Made in Germany” apart from the actions, which come from La Joux-Perret in La Chaux-de-Fonds and are then customised in Germany. The dials are produced within the Black Forest, and the instances in Pforzheim, close to Stuttgart, the place our meeting workshop can be situated.

Do you suppose “Made in Germany” is a robust advertising and marketing argument?

Sure, we expect so. As we’ve seen with LVMH’s current funding in Rimowa and Birkenstock, the “Made in Germany” label is extremely valued in a number of areas of the world, together with Asia, and it’s based mostly on an actual and really sturdy tradition of engineering and high quality. That is the custom we comply with at Löbner. As an Airbus specialist stated when requested in regards to the distinction between France and Germany when it comes to manufacturing (Airbus is situated between Toulouse and Hamburg), he replied: “In France, we do issues in addition to obligatory; in Germany, we do them in addition to potential. This typically results in over-quality, but it surely’s exactly this obsession with mechanical and useful perfection that makes the distinction within the notion of merchandise and available on the market.”

How is the model positioned? 

The model is positioned on the high quality as a result of it’s the one place that permits us to satisfy our high quality requirements. The medium-term purpose is to develop a “Made in Germany” motion and transfer upmarket. That is our imaginative and prescient, and we intend to realize it!

Do you want to stay unique? What’s your manufacturing quantity and common worth?

Sure, we’re an unique model geared toward cultured collectors who don’t wish to have a watch that may be seen on each wrist. In the mean time, we produce solely 200 to 300 items per yr, and we’re giving ourselves time to develop earlier than slowly growing the cadence. Our common worth is between EUR 8,000 and 14,000, VAT included. So, a median of  EUR 11,000.

How does a model like Löbner discover its place available in the market (overcrowded with manufacturers/merchandise, extraordinarily aggressive)?

First, in fact, by counting on the very wealthy historical past of the model, which is atypical and actually arouses curiosity. Reasonably than a conventional watchmaker as we all know it, Löbner was extra of a high-tech innovator at the start of the final century. This can be a little-known aspect of the historical past of time measurement. With the arrival of quartz after which processors, we have now forgotten what an unimaginable dose of inventiveness it took 100 years in the past to measure time precisely sufficient to satisfy the wants of trade and sports activities. Löbner was on the forefront and one of many market leaders. 

After which, in fact, by the design and consistency of the picture. We have now a really sturdy vary that respects the aesthetic rules of the Bauhaus and which is distinguished by a crown protector (which additionally protects the motion of the chronograph by stopping the triggering of it in the course of the setting of the time), which has turn into a signature and is preferred so much.

What’s your technique when it comes to growth (1. Merchandise, 2. distribution), understanding that you’re distributed completely through Bucherer?

We aren’t unique to Bucherer; we solely launched the elements completely at their Maison. We’re slowly increasing distribution, beginning with Japan. Asia is our precedence after Europe, however right here too, we’re taking the time to do issues proper. We additionally maintain plenty of occasions with the watch golf equipment to elucidate the model, its historical past, and its design. It’s via fans that the rebirth of a reputation like ours happens.

What’s the profile of the Löbner consumer?

He’s a collector who already has many classics and is within the historical past of watchmaking. A collector who needs to have items that he doesn’t discover on everybody’s wrist; someone who’s thirsty for studying and proudly owning “speaking items”.

Why ought to I purchase a Löbner watch?

Since you prefer it. After all of the rational justifications of the world, I stay satisfied that any buy – even in a set – have to be supported by actual emotion when encountering the thing.

A Pioneer of contemporary sports activities timekeeping

Franz Ludwig Löbner based the Löbner watch manufacturing facility in Berlin in 1862. Early in his profession, the long run court docket watchmaker started specialising in a demanding subject – chronographs and measuring devices for navy, sport and industrial functions. Pushed by the ingenious spirit and revolutionary energy of its founder, Löbner’s firm pioneered improvements in cell short-time measurement all through the 82 years of its existence and gained prospects all around the world via its unequivocal dedication to the best requirements.

Complicated tertiary counters have been as soon as amongst LÖBNER’s excellent merchandise: extremely exact stopwatches with which the corporate was already able to mechanically measuring time intervals right down to the 1/one centesimal of a second by 1881. In 1892, LÖBNER developed a powerful, three-meter-tall navy clock that might measure time intervals precisely to 1/one thousandth of a second.

Along with significantly exact chronoscopes that measured time intervals correct to 1/one thousandth of a second, LÖBNER provided the German Reichstag a clock system with a perpetual calendar in 1894. With its giant clocks, LÖBNER additionally grew to become an vital timekeeper at Europe’s famend horse racetracks. From the mid-Nineteen Twenties, LÖBNER entered new territory and have become a pioneer in trendy sports activities timekeeping.

The world’s first timekeeping system with a time printer was developed by LÖBNER in Berlin. These electromechanical programs have been used on the Olympic Video games in Amsterdam, Lake Placid, and eventually in Berlin in 1936. Within the Nineteen Thirties, LÖBNER documented, amongst different issues, the legendary world document set by Rudolf Caracciola, who reached a document pace of 432.7 km/h on the freeway connecting Frankfurt to Darmstadt in 1938.

“LÖBNER created clocks that scientifically carried out what was anticipated of them: exactly measuring fifths, tenths, hundredths, and thousandths of a second”, says Thomas Schraven, creator of the reference ebook on the model.

Extra particulars at lbnr.com.